Lahore High Court. PHOTO: LHC.GOV.PK
LAHORE: Lahore High Court (LHC) will take up this week a bail application of a 24-year-old ‘mentally-challenged’ girl who has been in jail for more than three years on charges of blasphemy.
On August 12, Justice Shaid Bilal Hassan had put off the hearing on her plea until August 20.
Waleeha Irfat was jailed on March 3, 2012, after an FIR was registered against her at the Factory Area police station under Section 295-B (blasphemy) of the Pakistan Penal Code.
On August 29, 2013, a seven-member medical board headed by the Health Services director general had said, “She has been found to be suffering from mood disorder (impulsive personality traits). The board is of the opinion that she needs drug treatment and psychotherapy.” The board had been formed on the court’s directive.
Controversial film
The LHC issued a notice to the federal government last week on a petition filed by Jamaatud Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed against the screening of an Indian movie, Phantom, in Pakistan. Saeed said the film targeted Pakistan and sought to harm its integrity.
A government law officer had sought more time to file a reply. Justice Shahid Bilal Hasan said the government should file a reply by August 20.
In the petition, Saeed said the JuD was a charitable organisation. He said it also helped philanthropists like Abdul Sattar Edhi. He said the organisation had no nexus with the Lashkar-i-Taiba, a banned militant organisation.
Saeed said the JuD had established 142 schools and four universities across the country. “It is educating the poor,” he said. He had requested the court to direct the federal government to take action through Pakistan High Commission in India against the planned exhibition of Phantom in Pakistan.
Malaysian lady gets custody of baby daughter
The court last week handed over a two-and-a-half-year-old girl to her Malaysian mother after recovering her from her Pakistani grandmother.
Areha Emam had filed a petition for the recovery of Arifa from her in-laws in Faisalabad. The judge had tried to effect reconciliation between Emam and her in-laws but was unable to persuade them.
Muniza Khalid, the grandmother of the girl, said Arifa was not willing to go with her mother to Malaysia. She said she was ready to host Emam for a few days so that Arifa became better familiar with her mother and went back to Malaysia willingly.
The judge ordered that the girl be handed over to her mother. When she was handed over to her mother, she started crying. The judge then gave Emam half an hour to try and persuade the girl to go with her.
Eman said she had married Moaz Khalid, a Pakistani residing in Ulu Tiram Johar, Malaysia, on July 31, 2012. She said they had a daughter, Arifa, one year after their marriage but that their relationship had been strained later.
She said that in March 2014, Moaz Khalid’s mother, Muniza Khalid, had brought Arifa to Pakistan saying that she would bring her back after her family had seen her. She said Muniza had never taken the girl back to Malaysia.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 17th, 2015.
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